Dragon's Due
by thehearne97
Summary: After a long history of blood and pain, The Dragonborn crosses paths with Commander Jane Shepard. Doom-driven against the foes that threaten this galaxy and the horrors that have plagued his past, he will stand firm and not be found wanting. My first fic is basically a TES and ME but also contains elements of WH40k and The Inheritance Cycle.
1. Prelude

**Disclaimer: I do not own TES, ME, WH40k and IC. They belong to Bethesda, Bioware, GW and Christopher Paolini respectively.**

**WARNING: I can suffer serious writer's block from time to time so I apologise to anyone who may follow my updates. **

* * *

The twisted and ever-changing realm of The Warp is a home to many entities. All sentient beings are sub-consciously aware of this though few acknowledge it. Deep in the roiling currents of the Immaterium one such entity began to stir though it was...different from the rest. He served though his masters did not inhabit the Realm of Chaos, nor was it made of the same energies that fuelled the Empyrean. He had been many things in the past: Dovahkiin, Dragon Rider, Astartes. All of which had brought him great pain: Banishment from his homeworld of Nirn, the death and consumption of his dragon, the destruction of his physical form and the loss of his Legion.

_Why can't I simply die?_

All his life spent in service to Aedra and Daedra only to find out that he'd become like them. The mortal existence that he fought so fanatically in the name of, was naught but a lie. But he was not in Aetherius or Oblivion. This was the domain of his greatest foes and they had won. They had lured him away from his home and revealed his true immortal nature and by the decree of Akatosh he could never return. He formed a bond with a dragon, his own soul altering the nature of both involved, granting him enhanced physical abilities and her the gift of The Voice. His nature caused the others to see him as an abomination. He cared not for had found true happiness. They destroyed her body and he consumed her soul. Gripped in the madness of grief and vengeance he laid waste to all before him. Then came a new calling. He submitted himself to the the gene-engineers of Terra, his body augmented his DNA extracted for others and became the first Primarch with no ties to the newly formed Imperium of Man. For over a century he fought in The Great Crusade his existence and that of his Legion know only to a few. Then came the Horus Heresy and the Battle of Eternity's Gate. He fell, his Legion abandoned the Imperium in search for him and here he was. Forever tormented by the mockeries of daemons and the memories of his failures. He was defeated.

_No._

His Dragon Soul rebelled. He was a Child of Akatosh. He was made to dominate and would not bow down and succumb to others.

The daemons noticed something was not right with their latest plaything.

He saw a new galaxy. A place where the influence of Chaos was all but non-existent. Somewhere he could return. His instinctive wander-lust began to rise, anticipating the prospect of new adventures.

The daemons began to approach warily.

He saw a great force of destruction encroaching this new galaxy. His Asartes Honour demanded that this galaxy be defended.

The daemons became fearfull.

He hear a...name? Shepard. Perhaps this individual could aid him. Finally he could oppose the cruel whims of fate. As began to tear down the barriers between worlds his Rider's Bond cried out for vengeance.

The daemons scattered.

* * *

**Year 2183**

**Eden Prime**

Commander Jane Shepard was beginning to question why the Illusive Man had sent her to this place. The young but veteran sentinel felt a pang of sentimentality being here. Two years since the hunt for Saren and the geth and it all began here. Where she first began to form a bond with those that stood beside her. Forged in duty, tempered in battle. She remembered Kaidan and how she had left him to die. Two years past and the decision still weighed heavily. She could not help but wander how Ashley was faring.

There were considerably more Alliance marines than last time and while the people of this world saw Shepard as a hero, the marines were clearly uncomfortable with here presence or, more likely, her ties with Cerberus. Once again she hated the fact that Miranda insisted on coming, that the Illusive Man told them to investigate some very strange anomaly on Eden Prime and that she had to "report on any progress that that you might make."

_Progress that I might make?_

Sometimes Shepard struggled to put up with how much of an arrogant bitch Miranda could be sometimes. Jane was certain that Miranda was a good person but to Shepard she possessed a little too much confidence in her own "genetic superiority" and a little to much faith in Cerberus. However the presence of Garrus Vakarian did a great deal to ease the fiery redhead's mood. Even still something did not seem right and wasn't just the sentimentality of the planet.

"I don't like it" said the scarred turian giving voice to Shepards thoughts. "All the civvies look afraid and the guards are all on high alert."

"Do you think we're the ones causing this commotion?" asked Miranda.

"I don't think so" replied Shepard "a lot of the people here seem genuinely relieved at our arrival."

As if on que a rather agitated looking asari maiden rushed towards with an entourage of Alliance soldiers.

"Dr Kashya Elvaris" the asari spoke "thank the Goddess your here Spectre"

"What's the situation?" inquired Shepard as calmly as she could, though this whole atmosphere somewhat unnerved her.

"We...we don't know" replied Kashya nervously "There was this storm that was completely unnatural and then...he just fell out of the sky!"

"Wait a minute" replied Miranda sceptically "did you say "he" fell out of the sky?"

"Was anybody hurt?" Shepard cut in quickly before they came off point. They could worry about details later.

"No! Not yet anyway..." the doctor trailed off deep in thought "I think it might be best if I showed you."

The trio followed the asari a short distance to an off limits area. Here, surrounding what appeared to be an asteroid impact crater were multiple gun emplacements and marines all of whom were aiming their weapons over the lip of the massive crater. The asari stopped and wordlessly pointed at the scene.

Shepard slowly peered into the centre of the crater and gasped. There stood the most imposing figure Shepard had ever laid eyes upon. There was no doubt over who would come out on top if hostilities took place. The Alliance marines would be slaughtered.


	2. The new arrival

Even after all his experience this place felt rather strange. What first caught his attention was how calm The Warp was. Were he to liken The Warp to an ocean he would say that he'd just caused the biggest ripple this galaxy had ever known. Not that breaking through into a new reality was a non-violent affair. Now to see what he'd brought with him to the other side. Various runes began flashing across his vision.

**HUD: **Active

**Initiating Armour Diognostics:**...

**Armour Integrity: **100%

**Iron Halo: **100%

**Systems:** All systems nominal

**Runic Warding: **Intact

**Psychic Hood: **No foreing psyonic activity detected.

Warp activity minimal

He thanked whatever gods that were looking out for him. His Imperial Dragon Power Armour was something he would definitely need.

**Initiating Body Diognostic:...**

**Diognostic: **No tissue damage detected

No organ failure detected

Blood levels nominal

No trauma detected

No foreing contaminants detected

All bodily functions nominal

**Arsenal:...**

**Armaments: **4

Mark VI Godwyn patter boltgun designated "Fury of Atmora"

Mark III Sunfire patter plasma pistol designated "Akatosh's Talon"

Astartes pattern combat blade designated "Dragon Tooth"

"Dovahstrum" sword of unkown classification.

He grinned. The gods were most definitely smiling on him. His sword "Dragonstorm" a hollowed out Skyforged ebony longsword filled with heartstone and coated in raw stahlrim. A single heartstone core rested in the weapons crossguard, while a polished chunk of stalhrim formed a pomel stone. Imbued with the energies of Aetherius and Oblivion. Fire and Ice. Light and Dark. All in perfect harmony. Unfortunately it took the Forces of Chaos for them to work together. All things considered however, he was off to a good start.

He began to take stock of of his surroundings. He seemed to be within some form of pit. Not a pit a crater. That was to be expected considering how he re-manifested his physical form and broke through the walls between worlds as opposed to transmitting his conscience to this world then materialising the way that daemons usually do. Though the later method would have been easier he would require a constant source of energy in order to sustain himself for any given time, which was why daemonic incursions rarely lasted for long.

Despite the serenity of The Immaterium he was still wary of opening his mind to those around him, in case something decided to follow him. This brought him to the decision he was very much looking forward to. Exploration. It was time to get out of his hole. He started to walk and then stopped at the sound of panicked shouts. He looked up to the sight of multiple figures, all of whom were pointing some form of weapon in his direction. Judging by their size he doubted that these guns could possibly damage his master-crafted and heavily enchanted artificer armour but he drew his bolter just to be sure. Immediately his new found company began yelling and brandishing their weapons more wildly.

The Dragonborn regarded these people. Some were clearly human which did not surprise him in the slightest as they had a curious knack for getting everywhere. They wore some kind of military body armour but it was the strange female pointing towards him that caught his attention. She was clearly a xeno. He didn't actually have any problem with other species thanks to his upbringing on Nirn, though she did look curious. Blue skin, no ears and tentacle-like structures portruding out the back of her head.

He entertained the idea of sending a few bolter rounds into their midst and routing them when a fiery redheaded human woman emerged from the group and began to stride towards him accompanied by another brunette human woman and an even more bizarre. Spindly limbs, barrel chested, mandibles, metallic flesh and an odd avian-looking headcrest. The redhead was clearly the leader and she began to make a series of unfamiliar sounds.

He frowned though none could see behind his war-helm. This is what he hated the most about first-contact. Finding an effective form of communication. He lowered his bolter and mag-locked it to his utility belt, much to the relief of everyone around him. He raised an arm and beckoned towards her. Seeming to understand this gesture she approached carefully. With her head barely reaching the centre of his chest he swiftly brought his hand to her face and opened a mental-link. He took only what he needed and withdrew his hand. The woman staggered back, amazed at his speed.

"Forgive my intrusion human" his voice startling his audience "I required a way of communication and was unfamiliar with your dialect."

"Wait so your not just a mech?" spoke the brunette. Her demeanor reminded him much of a High Elf. His resulting laugh, distorted by his helm's vox speaker was probably the most unsettling sound that these people had ever heard in their lives.

As one they all gasped as he removed his helm.

* * *

Shepard was unsure what to expect behind that helm, which looked all too similar to some form of deathmask with strange tusks portruding from the sides of the face. There was something truly menacing about that emotionless visage. She did not doubt that it was desinged to strike awe and fear. What she now saw beneath the mask was even more unsettling.

At first she thought he was a human but swiftly discarded the idea. No human could be so big and move so quickly. Though his face, fair-toned skin, raven coloured hair and a closely trimmed beard bespoke a human, other features about his face screamed otherwise. He wore a feral grin that revealed the razor-pointed teeth of some mighty apex predator. Most terrifying of all however were the eyes. They appeared distinctly reptilian though irises appeared to glow with swirling golden patterns. Shepard gasped as she realised these pattern were not only glowing but they were moving in orbit around his slitted pupils. He continued to gaze at her with an almost frightening intensity. For a horrifying moment she thought he was about to enter her mind once again. It was nothing like joining her mind with Liara, it felt like an unstoppable firestorm raging through her conscience. Even more ominous was the desciple surrounding this firestorm as if he was actively trying to restrain himself. She shuddered to imagine what could happen if these walls of disciplne fell away.

"What are you?" she asked, trying to retain as much resolve as she possibly could.

"Hmm" strangely enough he seemed rather unsure of his answer "That is very much a matter of perspective, in truth I am not entirely sure myself although I can tell you that I am an Astartes. Now it is your turn to answer my question"

"Err.." this was unexpected "okay"

"Who is Shepard?"

"Me!" she exclaimed suddenly annoyed at this godlike being's bizarre query "I'm Commander Jane Shepard of the Alliance Marine Core and first human member of the Citadel Council's Special Tasks and Reconnaisance Group or Spectre."

"Now am I right in-"

"Hey no fair you owe me an answer!" everyone was deathly quiet. Shepard now thought that she had made a fatal mistake. Then the Astartes burst ought laughing and she alawed herself to relax a little.

"Fair enough" his voice was mercifully less intimidating without the death mask.

"what's your name?" she inwardly scolded herself for not asking something to better asses the threat he posed like why he was here or if there were others like him. Somehow she doubted the later of the questions.

"Heialti, spelt H-J-A-L-T-I, Hjalti" If the use of "J" was any indication he had a distinctly Scandanavian sounding name. "Are you on some form of mission for the good of this galaxy?"

"Yes" Shepard was rather qurious of this question "Why do you care?"

"It is my sworn duty to protect inoccent lives that cannot protect themeselves and to battle evil no matter what form it may take as such I am oblidged to join your cause will you accept my aid?"

Shepard was stunned at his sudden outburst. He sounded like an Asari Justicar. However she knew next to nothing about this Hjalti, for all she knew it could be a trap.

She was torn from her musing by the sound of gunfire. Several marines collapsed into the crater, bloody holes adorning their backs. The other marines were ruthlesly cut down as they tried to bring their weapons to bear. A high pitched shriek caught Shepard's attention as Doctor Kashya cowered in terror as a grey armoured mercanary held a pistol to her head. Another Batarian mercenary called down to them.

"The Shadow Broker demands that you be brought to him."


	3. Of spectres and space marines

**Okay something weird just happened and parts of the chapter went missing so I've now had to re-upload this thing. Sorry.**

* * *

In the time it took for the four-eyed alien to say his message The Dragonborn had, in a single fluid motion sealed his helm back upon his head. Now it was the cold eyes of Konahrik that gazed outwards at the intruders. All were humanoid in appearance, which meant they most likely shared similar weaknesses. They bore a motley assortment of weaponry, a telltale sign of a mercenary band and there armour was devoid of any markings meaning that they did not want to be traced. Their eyes were alert, hinting at experienced professionals but the way they held their weapons almost casually declared their arrogance and complacency. They had arrived certain of an easy success.

Killing them would be easy. A single well placed Thu'um and they would be annihilated, along with anyone else caught in its area of effect. The collateral damage could be horrendous. But it would _so _easy. Why should _he _care what happened if another was hit by his Shout? It wasn't his fault if they were standing in his way?

_Jurgen Windcaller was punished for his blasphemous and selfish misuse of The Voice._

What? He was not Jurgen Windcaller. He was The Last Dragonborn, the will of Akatosh made manifest. It was well within his birthright was it not?

_Alduin was always arrogant in his power, he took for himself what truly belonged to our father Akatosh._

Was that it? Was he becoming like Alduin and the dragons of old? Destruction and tyranny incarnate?

_What is better, to be born good or to overcome your evil ways through great effort?_

Great effort. It had been many years since he had spoken to Paarthurnax but he would never forget his words and the great wisdom behind each and everyone of them. In many ways the old dragon had been the closest thing to a father The Dragonborn had ever known. He would heed the Paarthurnax's advice. Great effort. If that is what it took to overcome his inborn nature then so be it. The situation with the mercenaries would end violently and though he may not end it as quickly as he would have liked he would end it properly.

Many of the others would not approve of what he did next, the _true _Primarchs that was, those that were derived from The Emperor himself. Some would be understanding of its necessity others would have just taken the easy option and consequences be damned. He cared nothing for them, to him they were self-righteous, gloryfied murderers. Always they had looked down on him for not being sired by the same father and yet having a Legion built around him, a tiny Legion in comparison to his "brothers" but a Legion nonetheless. His self imposed limitations ensured that he wasn't as mighty as the others but he did not fight for the Imperium to prove himself to them. He fought because the cause was a good one, despite the atrocities committed along the way. Now he had a new cause.

He drew back his hand and clenched it into a fist. He felt the familiar drain on his magicka and an electrical pulse flow down his arm. He violently thrust his arm forward, opened his hand and released the built up energy. He struck the alien right in the jaw with a lightning bolt. His visual receptors compensated for the blinding flash as the aliens face was blasted into ash. The former hostage barely had time to announce her horror as The Dragonborn raised his hands and unleashed a raging torrent of flames at the mercenaries. Those that did not rush back in time howled in agony as their flesh was left to the mercy of his magic.

The Dragonborn drew his bolter and rushed over the lip of the crater. One of the remaining mercenaries turned to find a mass-reactive round bury itself in his chest and detonate. The shot alone had collapsed his right lung and left a 75 calibre hole in his torso. The detonation pulped his heart, punctured his left lung and shattered the right side of his ribcage. Another avian-looking creature raised his rifle to fire but a shot to one of its mandibles ripped away half of its head. The final merc fired a swift burst at the incoming space marine and started to flee. The shots impacted harmlessly against The Dragonborn's left pauldron and he raised his bolter and fired. Savouring the familiar _thud-crack _sound as the weapon unleashed its almighty fury.

**Hostile Communications Hacked:...**

+"-why the hell did the Shadow Broker put Tela Vasir in charge? She's a fucking spectre! An asari spectre at that."+

Another spectre? Thought The Dragonborn. Was Shepard working with this Tela Vasir or had she gone rogue? More importantly, who was this Shadow Broker?

+"Damn right."+ came another voice over the vox +"If Shepard finds out, we're screwed and I don't want to spend the rest of my life in some Council prison"+

"That is assuming that I do not kill you first." Clearly they had not noticed that an eight-foot tall demi-god was listening after his armour's machine spirit had hacked their comms. He laughed maniacly as he heard a series of startled curses. He now knew that they were not working with Shepard and with a clear objective he resumed his advance. He needed to capture Tela Vasir and interrogate her or, failing that terminate her.

Suddenly a high velocity impacted Konahrik's forehead with a resounding _clang! , _forcing him back a step and jerking his head violently. He dived behind the wall of a nearby structure and berating himself for not having his Iron Halo raised in case there was a sniper nearby, which evidently there was. Another disadvantage compared to the Primarchs was that he made mistakes. By now the ringing had stopped thanks to his Lyman's Ear implant. _Made from my own bloody DNA._ He was just glad the shot hadn't penetrated the mask despite never encountering anything that could.

He sighted his assailant and was about to return fire when another shot went off from behind him, reducing the previous merc's head to a fine red mist. The Dragonborn turned to see the strange avian-looking creature that accompanied Shepard, a faint stream of smoke rising from the barrel of its absurdly large sniper rifle. Such a weapon must have be a nightmare in close area terrain. Evidently not as the weapon collapsed into a smaller block-like object which he promptly slung over his shoulder.

"Didn't seem fair to let you have all the fun now," the alien spoke rather sarcastic humour, quite common among experienced soldiers. "The name's Garrus by the way, Garrus Vakarian."

"I confess that was rather an impressive shot" Garrus assumed what appeared to be a smug expression "a shame your a xeno, you'd make a formidable Astartes"

"I suppose I should probably take that as a compliment," His voice made a peculiar buzzing sound as he spoke "but I wouldn't go around calling people xeno if I were you, kinda offensive."

"My apologies."

"I see you two are starting to get along" At that voice both turned to face the newly arrived Commander Shepard.

"Commander I must inform you that our foes are commanded by one Tela Vasir" They were clearly surprised at the news.

"Crap, another rogue spectre." Garrus muttered.

"Are you sure?" asked Shepard.

"My armour's machine-spirit hacked into their communications" The Dragonborn stated flatly.

"Machine-spirit that's..." Konarik's eyes glared at the brunette trailing behind the commander and The Dragonborn studied her. Her body was flawless. _Could she be...? _Her posture was akin to an altmer's. He examined her skin tone, blue eyes, graceful curves and sighed in disapproval. _I think she is. _"... nevermind, Cerberus has suspected Tela Vasir working for the Shadow Broker for some time."

Shepard turned and glared "And it didn't occur to you to mention this Miranda?"

"I..."

"Uh girls?" interrupted Garrus "I think we've got bigger problems right here"

The mercenaries had regrouped and had formed a firing line. All four of them dived into the nearest patch of cover as the mercenaries unleashed a blistering hail of gunfire. The Dragonborn decided it was high time to raise his Iron Halo. He looked at the mercenary lines and back to Shepards motley crew who were currently pinned. Miranda had raise some kind of energy shield and her body started to pulse with energy. The shield gave Shepard and Garrus opportunity to find superior cover from which they began return fire. Miranda slumped down next to the others and started firing with her own sub machine gun. The Dragonborn drew his sword.

"Commander Shepard I require some covering fire."

"Hjalti I..." she turned and gaped. "Is that a sword?"

"It is."

"Are you gonna-?"

"I am"

"Okay then." She turned to Garrus and Miranda. "Miranda hit them with biotics, Garrus you and me are gonna cover our friend here while he does something insane."

Miranda unleashed a blast of blue energy, or biotics, striking one of their opponents square in the chest an ripping him to pieces. Garrus began firing with his assault rifle and Shepard launche her own biotic attacks before drawing her own assault rifle. The mercenaries scrambled for cover and The Dragonborn charged.

The distance was covered in seconds and The Dragonborn tilted his shoulder and slammed his full weight into the first mercenary and obliterated him in a shower of gore. The others cursing as they were showered in the blood of their comrade. The Dragonborn then brought his sword down and bisected another and another mercenary fell to a brutal chest kick that pulverised his torso. The last two mercenaries turned and fired their weapons causing the air around the space marine to shimer as shots disintegrated against the Iron Halo. Before the two mercenaries were gunned down by Shepard's team.

A gunship flew overhead and was about to flee when a missile struck its tail and sent it spiralling to the ground. Another craft came in to land near to the group. It looked somewhat similar to a landspeeder with the exception of two large engines flanking the craft. The craft itself was yellow, white and black.

"Good job Jacob, Zaeed." Said Shepard as two figures emerged from the craft. One was dark skinned young man in black armour with a close cropped haircut. The other looked to be in his middle ages in heavily customised yellow armour that looked rather worn. The man himself had a heavily scarred visage and what appeared to be a cybernetic eye. The second figure intrigued The Dragonborn and he decided to reach out with his mind and read the mans surface thoughts so as not to be detected. _A mercenary with honour. _Such people were rare in that particular profession. He found himself thinking back to the Companions and how he'd turned them into an Astartes fighting unit. He grinned. One advantage he had over the Primarchs was that his gene-seed, being derived from a Divine, was compatible with a wide variety of races from both genders. He remembered the nightmare of designing and producing armour for the khajiit and argonian marines as well as the occasional lycanthrope.

"Eh Shep" called the old merc "Just what the hell is that thing?"

"Not entirely sure Zaeed"

A figure emerged from the wreckage of the downed gunship. Clutching its side and limping heavily.

They all turned to face the newcomer.

"Tela Vasir you're a goddamned traitor!" Shepard almost screamed at the alien, asari.

"The Shadow Broker and I have an arrangement" began the asari. Her voice betrayed her acceptance of defeat as Shepard and her team all pointed their guns at the rogue spectre. "I work for him and in return he gives me information to help me on any mission the Council gives me"

"You think the Council are going to accept that when this becomes public?" replied Shepard, she clearly hadn't lost any of her anger. The Dragonborn simply watched passively. "You attacked a fucking colony"

"My work has saved lives and-"

"How many civilians do you think could have died if not for Hjalti's quick thinking?"

"They would have-"

"You killed alliance soldiers! And your every crime will be made public before the Citadel Council."

Tela Vasir was still for a moment and then The Dragonborn could sense the rage grow within her. He knew what she was about to do. He took a deep breath as the enraged asari became engulfed in a corona of biotic power.

"Not if I kill you first!" Vasir howled and charged at Shepard.

"_IIZ SLEN NUS_"

A blast of cold air was unleashed from The Dragonborns throat, through Konahrik and directly at Tela Vasir, stopping her dead in her tracks as ice crystalised into massive chunks around her form.

Shepard and her squad stared in awe at the power he had just unleashed. "Commander I think we ought to bring the asari with us."

"S-Sure good idea" she blurted out quickly. Shepard activated he comm "Joker we need a pick up and you ain't gonna believe what we found."


	4. Our Resident Dragonborn

**Well that took longer than expected, sorry guys. I've got a part time job and I'm back in school studying A-Levels so there may be more delays in the future, so sorry :(. Nevertheless here we are. **

**Enjoy! **

* * *

"Shepard I do not approve of your decision."

Commander Jane Shepard gazed at the Illusive Man blankly. It had been a wild day. After Hjalti _froze _Tela Vasir they had found another salarian mercenary who had surrendered to them rather meekly after he got a good look up the barrel of Hjalti's assault rifle-cannon. After that Hjati had to thaw Vasir out in order move load her onto the kodiak. When she tried to resist he promptly shot a ball of viridian energy at her which induced a "temporary paralysis" he explained to her bewildered team. The now terrified salarian immediately agreed to be put into custody and aid in convicting the rogue spectre when they presented her to the Council.

And still Shepard knew next to nothing about this stranger. He had crowbarred himself into her squad with little explanation, though she would accept all the help she could get so she had little cause to complain. His armour had shrugged of enough firepower to put down a fully armoured krogan battlemaster. His rifle, a "bolter" he called it, dished out more damage than any rifle had a right to and he had charged an enemy firing line with a _sword! _A massive, gorgeous and very dangerous looking sword but a sword nonetheless. Furthermore the tactic had worked and also displayed his immense physical strength when he crushed those two mercenaries, firstly with a shoulder bash and secondly with a chest kick. Then there was the flames, the lightning bolt, the paralysis and that strange but undeniably powerful language that had frozen TelaVasir and made the very air shatter. What amazed her most however was the sheer efficiency if Hjalti's counter-attack with the only collateral damage being a few bullet marks. And bloodstains. Unfortunately the Illusive Man had demanded her report in the comm room before she could ask any questions to Hjalti.

"Shepard are you even listening to me?"

"Yes" _regretfully _she thought as she was torn from her musing. "But even had we not found him I would've still had to go to the Citadel anyway and besides I'll get the chance to recruit Kasumi Goto when we get there."

"That may have been the case before your findings on Eden Prime" he replied dismissively much to Shepard's annoyance. "_It _needs to be brought to Cerberus that we may learn its abilities for its obvious that it was holding back on its full capabilities in the footage we've received."

And yet again Shepard had become infuriated at how the Illusive Man had gleaned information seemingly out of nowhere, she had not sent him any footage. "_He _ needs to be brought to the Citadel and Tela Vasir needs to be brought to justice"

"How do you know if he isn't working with the Collectors or the Reapers?" Countered the Illusive Man. "How do we know he can be trusted?"

"You do not."

Shepard bolted around only have her blood turn cold at the emotionless visage of Hjalti's dreadful mask. _How the hell did get in? _

"However, in my own defence I did end the mercenary attack as well as subdue the fallen spectre and am currently aiding the commander in her mission." His mask made his voice sound distinctively ominous and there was something else too, something undoubtedly connected to that strange language he'd used, it felt like the rumbling of an angry volcano and contained just as much power. Shepard was reminded that, despite his efficiency in dispatching the mercenaries, he had fought with extreme brutality. And yet he spoke with a frightening calm "Though I will not submit myself to experimentation by one who has the makings of a deluded tyrant."

"My interests have always been for the greater good of my kind!" The Illusive Man retorted angrily, obviously not used to being talked to this way. "Cerberus and humanity are one and the same."

"No, I don't think they are." Hjalti replied flatly, much to the Illusive Man's ire. "I hacked into this vessels databanks and I did not like what I saw. Akuze, Noveria, Project Overlord. It is rather damning."

"EDI!?" Shepard exclaimed. "Why didn't you warn me that our systems have been hacked?"

"I had not detected the breach until after Hjati's statement." for the first time the AI sounded worried.

"You see my point Shepard?" The Illusive Man spoke vindictively "The only technology advanced enough to bypass EDI are the Reapers."

"You sound rather calm hearing that an agent of the your enemy's has infiltrated you most valuable asset." That threw curiosity into Shepard's alarm, who was cursing herself for being unarmed. "Though I can assure you I do not work for your foes and that you do not wish to make an enemy out of me."

"You are quite foolish to threaten one of the most powerful men in this galaxy." The Illusive Man smiled wickedly. "I advise you change your tone or else I might-"

"It is you who is foolish to threaten one of the powerful beings to walk the face of reality!" Hjalti snarled with all the force of a hurricane. "Do not dare to presume to have any control over me, I have watched entire worlds burn and have battled some of the worst monstrosities ever to drag themselves from the realm of mortal nightmares!" The Illusive Man stiffened and yet Hjalti persisted "I see the alterations you've made upon your body to extend your life, you are weak! A feeble old man clinging to some deluded prospect of power whilst cowering beneath the lie of nobility, fearing his own mortality."

The hologram vanished, The Illusive Man clearly having heard enough.

* * *

The Dragonborn stormed out of the comm room with a barely suppressed rage and yet... he felt oddly pleased with himself. The same feeling he got when he punched Nazeem in the face with a daedric armour gauntlet. The Dragonborn chuckled to himself, that pompous fop had to be rushed straight to the temple of Kynareth, much to the amusement of his wife along with everybody else in Whiterun. People who thought they had power over him infuriated him almost as much as the scions of Chaos did. They failed to understand that no amount of wealth, power or resources would subdue him. As such he delighted in showing that he, a child of Akatosh and true emperor of Mundus nonetheless, had the power over them. The exception to this rule were the Divines, mainly Akatosh for obvious reasons, and the Daedric Princes, mainly Azura for reasons that eluded him. This attitude often caused disputes with both The Dragon Riders, The Imperium of Man and it would undoubtedly cause disputes with a number of authoritive figures here.

Right now though he had to focus on the most immediate task of finding a place to take up residence on this ship a... frigate? Even eldar frigates dwarfed this thing, it would barely pass as a light escort craft in the Imperium. He took a left and found himself in the ship's armoury to the surprised look of one Jacob Tailor. The Dragonborn frowned. It would have made far more sense to situate the armoury within the hangar.

"Soooo..." Jacob spoke with a peculiar mixture of anxiety an awkwardness. "You looking for a place to store your weapons and armour?"

"I keep my armaments on my person at all times and my armour is the only form of attire I currently posses."

"Okay then." Jacob turned slowly away from the the astartes.

The Dragonborn groaned in annoyance and tore off his helm. "Just because I'm an astartes does not mean you cannot make conversation."

"Sorry." he replied quickly "I take it you get that a lot?"

"Not so much among my own kind." silently referring to both his own legion and the dragons of his homeworld. "With others the reactions are quite various."

"Such as?" Jacob was clearly afraid of what his answer might be.

"Well those think they can control me, mostly politicians, hate me as I refuse to answer to them. Then there are religious individuals who either see me as an angel sent by their gods or a monster from the depths of their various versions of hell." The Dragonborn explained. His eyes dimmed slightly as he thought and a thin line ebony scales began to form around his brow, part of the many mutations he had aquired over the years. It was actually possible to disern his mood simply through watching how the mutations behaved. "With most however, it is awe. It makes socializing rather difficult."

"Makes sense"

The Dragonborn turned as the salarian Mordin Solus entered much to Jacob's relief. The salarian however, seemed unfazed by his presence.

"Ah Hjalti, been searching for you, needed in med-bay for examination." Mordin spoke quicker than any tech-priest could chant binary. Unfortunately the prospect of a medical examination did not appeal to him at all. People had tried to find ways of harnessing his abilities through studying both his body and mind. Judging by what he had seen with the Illusive Man it was possible that someone would attempt something similar here. Medical examinations were standard protocol for almost every military organisation he had encountered however, as such he had decided to accompany the professor to the med-bay.

They left the armoury and and entered the combat information center. Dozens of men and women bearing Cerberus colours worked at cogitators surrounded a holographic panel projecting an image of _Normandy SR-2. _They all looked up as the salarian and the astartes entered the room. He was swiftly approached by a short (being a very relative term for The Dragonborn) woman with short strawberry blond hair armed with a welcoming smile that could put Angron at ease.

"Yeoman Kelly Chambers" she introduced herself brightly "a pleasure to have you aboard."

"My thanks, Yeoman." He gave her mind quick scan, resisting the urge to delve deeper so as not to invade her privacy. She was an incredibly happy individual with a driving curiosity to learn about others. He would have mistaken this for nosiness were it not for her kindness. She learned about others in order to better aid them.

"Come now Hjalti" said Mordin "time for proper introductions later." The Dragonborn shifted uncomfortably in his armour, regretting his decision to introduce himself with his nickname. Only those closest to him addressed him as "Hjalti" ever since Serana thought it a good idea to name him this after meeting the ghost of Old Hroldan. He sighed inwardly, it was better than his other name. Konahrik. He disliked using that name due to its origins and the fact that it was Dovahzhul for warlord, which was an uncomfortably true description of The Last Dragonborn. He only ever used that name when he really wanted people to know what kind of individual they were dealing with.

* * *

The med-bay was smaller than he expected, though this was likely because he was more used to the confines of his mighty Glorianis-class battle barge _Aetherial Vengeance _the mobile headquarters of the Dragonguard Legion. Doctor Karren Chackwas was an ageing woman with a kind yet commanding look, as if the med-bay was her own little plain of Oblivion.

"A pleasure to make you aquaintance" she spoke professionally "Now would you please remove your armour so that we may begin."

After a good quarter hour of reluctant machine-spirit, deactivating armour seals and removing ceramite plating with the aid of both Mordin and Chakwas, The Dragonborn sat on top of an operating table having removed the upper section of his power armour. Both the salarian and the human gazed in horror at his multitude of scars, surgical and combat, and the line of cable sockets running up his spine. At the same time they gazed in wonder at the intricate tattoos on his back. On his right shoulder they depicted Akatosh in his dragon form, with his wings outstretched reaching up to The Dragonborn's neck. In either claw held a sword and an hourglass and there was a long line of aedric text extending down his arm where it the sun rune of Aetherius on the back of his hand. On the left side was Azura her extended arms holding the moon and star meeting Akatosh's wings. Daedric glyphs snaked down his left arm until they reached the portal rune of Oblivion.

"Don't stare at them for too long you will go blind." They immediately averted their gaze. Chakwas began a few basic scans while Mordin examined the sockets, all the while shaking his head in disapproval. At that moment they were joined by Shepard.

"What's wrong Mordin?" She inquired worriedly.

"Fibrous material grafted under skin of torso" he spoke in a hushed tone "along with other implants, breaks Council laws on gene-moding, extensively.

"Laws that I was not even aware of." The Dragonborn retorted "Besides, I can assure you that I was far outside Council juristiction when I underwent the implantation."

"Shepard, scans show that, other than his implants and a few other anomalies, his anatomy is completely human."

"What kind of anomalies are we talking about here doc?"

"So far we've already seen his scales, eyes and teeth but his brain activity far exceeds that of yours from when you activated the prothean beacon."

"The psykers curse," he chimed in "it is how I was able to enter your mind and learn your language."

"Where exactly are you from Hjalti?" Shepard was beginning to get angry and more than a little fearful.

"You will not believe me." The Dragonborn was dreading this moment. This was always the worst part about being thrown onto another plain of reality.

"Try me." _So be it._

"Very well, but I must warn you that where I come from the rules of physics as you understand them, time and space, are far more flexible." and then rather ominously "And fragile."

"Impossible." Shepard stared in disbelief, though it would explain a great many things about Hjalti.

"I assume this galaxy has a multiverse theory."

"Are you saying-!"

"Yes" he continued "Mundus, the plain of existance where I come from, we proved this theory to be true as well as the existance of the divine and magic, long before we even mastered space flight." To further reinforce his point he drew a soul gem resting on tripod and placed it on the table. Channelling some magicka into the gem he projected a diagram of Mundus.

Now it was EDI's turn to be perplexed. "This diagram shows objects such as multiple stars, planets and two small moons are in orbit around a central planet. This should not be possible."

"Already you have forgotten my warning." He then pointed to the central planet. "Nirn, my homeworld."

"And magic?" Shepard asked in disbelief.

"Mundus is seeped in the stuff." He conjured a magelight above his head to prove his point.

"And the divine?"

"Their rather fond of meddling in affairs on Nirn, sometimes directly." He shrugged. "Especially my own."

"And can we expect them to show up on out journeys with you onboard?"

"Depends if they find what we're doing to be interesting" before hitting her with the lance batteries "So it is a distinct possibilty."

"Will they help us or..." The Dragonborn realised he had gone to far by bringing the existance of gods crashing down on what appeared to be a secular society, now these people were fearing divine punishment. Part of him entertained the idea of letting them scurry around in terror but he decided to put their fears at rest.

"If they the gods that I know from my time in Mundus then you should rejoice for I am their chosen and they will aid _us_ in the war against the Reapers." He spoke kindly, letting his Voice drip into his words, imbuing them with power so as to inspire confidence over fear.

"What are you Hjalti?" She said with barely disguised awe.

"I am Dovakiin, Dragonborn, son of Akatosh the father of Dragons, lord of time and king of the aedric gods." He spoke solemly, with the great burden of responsibility. "I am lord of the Mundusian Empire, Primarch of the Dragonguard astartes legion and I'd be honoured to call you shield-sister."

"Very well Dragonborn." She decided to accept who he was, who he said he was as he inclined his head in a respectful bow. His change in demeanor was so sudden it shocked her. From ominous and relentless warrior, to a kind and humble individual. The sort of person you'd want a emperor. "I'm honoured to have you as part of my team."

The Dragonborn looked up at Shepard and smiled warmly. That had gone far better than he'd anticipated. He was relieved they had not asked how he arrived on Eden Prime, that would have led to the topic of the Warp and its inhabitants.

"Please, call me Hjalti, for I posses neither empire or legion in this galaxy." he removed himself from the table and plucked a beaker from a nearby desk. He then drew his combat blade and punctured his wrist and filled the beaker with his blood. "Here you are doctor, and Shepard, I will compile a dossier on my abilities and background as well a few other topics you may find intetresting."

He donned his armour with surprising swiftness, grabbed his weapons and left. Deciding to take residance in the cargo hold beneath the engine room. It was somewhat secluded and allowed him to keep an eye on the prisoners where they were being held under guard.

"Hey, Hjalti" Shepard called "You do realize we're going to explain this to the Council."

"Fuck!"

Shepard collapsed into mirth at the first time she heard his use of profanity.


	5. Author's Note (Important DO NOT SKIP)

**PLEASE READ THIS IT WILL AFFECT THE COURSE OF THE STORY!**

Greetings all.

Right then, the next chapter is essentialy gonna be DB meeting the Citadel Council before that though I plan on making a chapter based around Shepard reading DB' dossier. (Which will answer a great deal of questions you may have)

Just so you know this story will feature the ME2 DLC's like Lair of the Shadow Broker etc.

I'm not going to throw in DB's legion unless we find ourselves in ME3 (in which case FUCK YOU REAPERS!)

The main reason I'm posting this notice is because I want you guys to make a decision for me. It wont be a ME story without a good romance as such I presenting you with bunch of options of candidates from DB's past.(Note, this will not include characters from WH40k or Inheritance Cycle, as explained in chapter 3 DB didn't really get along with either of them). Candidates as follows:

SPEHSS MAHREEN Lydia

SPEHSS MAHREEN Aela The Huntress

Serana (Dawnguard DLC)

SPEHSS MAHREEN Frea (Dragonborn DLC)

Bear in mind that I'm most inclined towards Serana as she interacts with DB the most out of all the followers in Skyrim and the fact that here own backstory is by far the most interesting.

Alternatively I could hook him up with Shepard/Tali/Miranda (preferably not Jack/Samara) maybe Kasumi. I am however, reluctant to use ME characters given the fact that DB will most certainly outlive them and thus have to leave them to spare them both the pain. (His backstory will be tragic as hell, please don't make it worse! :'( .

I await your verdict in the reviews.

P.S. I apologise to any Paolini fans reading this but the IC references will be very few indeed.


	6. Email Revelations

**The votes have been cast in and by a stagerring majority DB's love interest is Serana. Took some thinking through to get this chapter finished so I hope you enjoy. Also I thought I might add a tad more personality above the norm with Hjalti's machine-spirit (think master/hound relationship)**

**Had to re-upload cause someone pointed out that I mixed up telepathy with telekinesis, my thanks. Also there the fact that I've jst discovered that increasing/decreasing the indent of a section doesnt appear in the Fanfiction documents.**

* * *

Shepard hummed softly in tune to her stereo playing quietly in the background over by her bed. She had to admit it was doing a wonderful job at calming her nerves. As the ships day-cycle was coming to an end she felt she had yet more to ponder about her new squad member. There was shock at the fact that he so wilfully pissed off the Illusive Man, stunned them into disbelief with his story about being from another dimension and scaring the shit out of them with words of divine influence. At the end of it all she had quite the headache.

She gazed blankly into the glass cabinet containing a perfectly detailed model of the _Normandy _and then to the other empty stands that dotted the cabinet. Perhaps she might fill them, that and populate her currently empty fish tank. Cerberus had put some thought into ensuring she was comfortable and she was thankful especially since she had recently come back from the dead after two years. Having said that she had a truly nightmarish time trying to clear out the surveillance bugs, some of which she had found in her lavatory and shower of all places.

A dull beeping noise disturbed her from her musing. She paced over to her terminal and opened her private messages.

Shepard.

My armour's machine-spirit has compiled a dossier which I have looked over and added a few personal comments. The contents of the dossier include some my personal background and abilities. There are also multiple links (shown in bold) to other information source such as history, culture, religion etc. all to read at your leisure. I hope you this to be as educational as enjoyable.

Hjalti.

Name/Titles**: Dovahkiin/Dragonborn**, Konahrik (Warlord), **Primarch** of the **Dragonguard Astartes Legion, **Emperor of the **Mundusian Empire, **Listener of the **Dark Brotherhood, Nightingale, **Master of the **Thieves Guild **(formally stepped down after coronation), Arch-Mage of the **College of Winterhold **(formally stepped down after coronation), Harbinger of the **Companions of Jorrvaskr, Dragon Rider **(formerly).

_Hjalti is a nickname, for formal meeting I go by Konahrik Dovahkiin which is the closest I have to an actual name. I do not however like using the name Konahrik due to its meaning. My time as a Dragon Rider is not a topic I enjoy to discuss and I ask that you respect this._

Species: **Nord**,** werewolf **(formerly), **volkihar vampire **(formerly), **dovahkiin**, **astartes.**

Shepard gaped. Werewolf. Vampire. She was now beginning to understand why Hjalti, or Konahrik Dovakiin, said that he wasn't entirely sure of what he was. But surely vampires and werewolves were the stuff of myths? Although, she had to admit that most people believed that the Reapers and the Collectors were myths and Shepard knew only too well that was not the case.

Abilities: **Psyker **(unknown class), hightened physical abilities (due to various sources), Mundusian **magic** (mastery in all schools), **dovakiin, Alagaesian magic **(very limited abilty), various blessings granted by **Aedra** and **Daedra**, strong resistance to magical/**Warp**/psychic attacks, skilled in various forms of combat, experienced war veteran, **astartes**.

_No one was able to classify my psychic abilities although I am definitely not the most powerful. I have some skill in telepathy (which I used to learn your language) and divination (though this is often limited to discerning information and rarely being able to predict the future). Again I ask you not to inquire about my Alagaesian magic._

Age: Approximately 4136 years (_in your terms_).

_What!? _If that was true then Hjalti almost certainly had more combat experience than even the oldest and most battle-hardened krogan. She shuddered at the thought of witnessing so much death.

Wargear: Mk VI Godwyn Pattern Boltgun (_this is an error on the part of my machine-spirit, in truth it is a highly modified Mk I, I'm unsure why this is the case the Mk VI does not even exist)_, Mk IIISunfire Pattern Plasma Pistol (_another error_)Astartes Pattern Combat Blade (_made of dragonbone), _Dovahstrum/Dragonstorm (_my sword, don't get me started on the nature of it's enchantments or we'll be here for a while_), Artificer Imperial Dragon Power Armour with enhanced **machine-spirit** (_I may have broken a few rules about the how intelligent I ought to have made the machine-spirit but do not mistake it for an AI). _

Background: (See various links in Name/Titles section)

She selected the most prominent link. This was more an encyclopaedia than a dossier.

Dovakiin or Dragonborn are rare individuals who are said to be gifted by **Akatosh** with the blood, soul and power of a **dragon**. This grants numerous abilities including but not limited to the **Voice **and the power to absorb the life force and knowledge (the soul) of others of his/her kind both dragon and dragonborn. For all intents and purposes these individuals are themeselves dragons, as such they feel an instinctive urge to dominate those around them and coupled with their, some say god-like, abilities they can become very dangerous. The most notable example of this was the very first dragonborn **Miraak**.

However there are many tales of dragonborn becoming great heroes such as **Tiber Septim**, who conquered all **Tamriel **in the **Second Era **and became the divine** Talos**. More recently there is the **Konahrik Dovakiin **who conquered all of **Mundus, **reformed the **Elder Council**, restructured many of the renowned guilds and factions in service to the **Empire**, re-founded the **Dragon Cult** and ushered in a colossal technological advancement in **4E 222.**

Shepard could not resist as she opened the entry on Hjalti. What she saw stunned her. His own personal history, surviving the destruction of Helgen, the fight against Alduin, the Dawnguard, Miraak, the Second Great War, becoming emperor, the final battle against the Thalmor, becoming a Dragon Rider, meeting the Imperium of Man, becoming a primarch, returning to Mundus after four thousand years only discovered that it had been less than a decade since he left and... the list went on and on. One thing piqued Shepard's curiosity however, some parts seem to have been deliberately removed in particular the part of his life as a Dragon Rider and various other thing such as war against something labelled simply as The Great Enemy. She recalled how she had requested not to ask him about the subject of Dragon Riders, but why? Was he ashamed or did it cause him great pain? She felt a measure of sympathy for Hjalti. To this day the events at Akuze haunted her still. She could not even begin to guess at the horrors he had witnessed given how long he had lived.

She quickly read the entry on the Dragon Riders.

...the bond between **Rider** and **dragon** is such that the two are able to feel each others thoughts, emotions and physical senses. The mere presence of one bolsters the others powers considerably. Such a relationship inevitably leads to one willing to do anything to protect the other from harm or to relieve suffering in any and all forms. For one to lose the other is considered a fate worse than death and many die simply from the severing of the bond. Those that survive go mad with grief are often consumed by a need for vengeance and are constantly plotting the downfall of those responsible for the death of their partner. Should this need be satisfied some will commit suicide as they see no other purpose in life while others endure. However they shall eternally carry the pain of their loss and their magical abilities are drastically weakened.

Shepard looked wide-eyed in horror at what she had just read. Putting two and two together. She thought back to her brief relationship with Liara which now seemed pitiful in comparison to _this._ She could not even picture how much care one would place in the other only to have it torn away. Hjalti's life must have been a living hell.

A sudden beeping from her terminal mercifully drew her from her brooding. Another file from... _machine-spirit of my master's armour!?_

**Serana Volkihar**

* * *

**Chapter 6 is on its way and shall feature our favourite vampire!**


	7. Serana Vengeance

**Well this took considerably longer than I intended but here we are finally, enjoy!**

* * *

She soared angrily, a firestorm, through the cold void of space. Today more than ever before she was living up to her name. Beside her strode her brothers and sisters, all crying out for one thing. Vengeance. The tainted spirits of her foes were before her, some fighting, some fleeing. She cared not, she would end them for what they had done. One tainted spirit came before her starboard, attempting to broadside. She tore it to pieces with lance batteries. This was not her quarry. Her prey was once a standard Imperial Navy cruiser before being defiled and twisted by the Warp. She almost pitied the poor machine-spirit, but such feelings were quickly dispelled as she saw the massive banner upon the vessels hull proclaiming glory to Slaanesh. Normally such a vessel would not even warrant the attention of a _Glorianis-class _Battle Barge such as herself, but the Slaaneshi whore that was captain of this particular starship had foolishly mocked and slandered the name of her master over the the communication channels for both Chaos and Dragonguard forces to hear. The whore would suffer dearly for it. In her rage she sent out a lance beam and severed that insulting banner from the hull of her prey. The lights that inhabited her confines yelled in alarm as she assumed control of the lance batteries before launching a volley of void torpedoes, spearing the her foes engines. She savoured the broken cruisers pain as it was now at her mercy. Her brother Strike Cruiser _Pride of Jorrvaskr _moved to cover her flank. Today more than ever before she lived up to her name. She was the _Aetherial Vengeance _flagship and mobile headquarters of the Dragonguard Astartes Legion.

For now she would allow her foe to languish. She would have her way with the tainted spirit later. She turned her attention to the cold light that burned more fiercly than the rest within her mighty confines. For now she was content to watch the Slaaneshi whore be punished by Serana Volkihar.

* * *

As for the Daughter of Coldharbour herself, Serana Volkihar once again checked the condition of her modified Hellrifle lasgun. Her agitation becoming palpable as the unit of Dawnguard marines shuffled uncomfortably within the cramped conditions of the Caestus Assault Ram. Captain Agmaer coughed behind her. Serana whipped around and cursed as her nerves got the better of her.

"Damn it Agmaer," she hissed. Normally she was quite warm as far as the undead were concerned but since His death over a week ago... Right now all the vampire wanted to do was rip out that Slaaneshi whore's throat for her insolence when in truth Serana had a far more diabolical fate awaiting her mortal prey. A whole week, provided such things still existed in a system gripped as it was in the middle of a warpstorm.

"We're going to make the whore pay." His words calmed her only a little as Agmaer checked his modified rune bolter. Modifications, modifications everywhere as the Dragonguard were often cut off from standard supply lines being as they usually fought beyond the Imperial frontier, deep within the Halo Zone. This led to the Dragonguard becoming as self reliant as possible, which included but was not limited to extensive wargear modifications throughout the legion. In truth Serana was happy with how Agmaer progressed within Dawnguard which now served as a dedicated anti-daemon force for the Mundusian Empire.

Serana brought her attention to the fittings of her own power armour. She was not a space marine although her rather form fitting suit provided her comparable protection to astartes grade armour alongside her preternatural speed and agility. Hjalti had invited her along when he arrived at the newly rebuilt Castle Volkihar, which had since become a maximum security prison for the very worst scum due to the Treaty of Night that secured peace between vampires and mortals. Across her back was the Volkihar Blade once wielded by her father and all the more potent in her hands since Hjalti had helped her to unlock new heights in vampiric blood magic. Twin hellpistols strapped to her thighs along with a pair of daedric daggers gave her an edge in close quarters combat such as a boarding action. By her lower back was her trusty elven dagger which had since been enchanted to soul trap and to drain the life of her foes. Its location on her body concealed by her black ballistic fibre weave cloak made it easy to conceal and served as an excellent weapon to fall back on. Her hellrifle was meant as a precision weapon with its lethal accuracy and advanced targeting scope. Though she could not compete with the likes of Aela, Angi or Faelon she could put a las bolt through the neck joint of a space marine's power armour at fifty yards. In fact, over the past week Serana had on more than one occasion done just that.

It had not taken the Dragonguard long to figure out who had led them into the trap in the Eternity's Gate system. Only the warmaster Horus Lupercarl could pull off such a feat as to decieve their beloved Dragonborn, just as he had decieved Leman Russ into attacking Prospero. Hjalti had stayed to cover the Dragonguard retreat as hordes of daemons, cultists and Chaos space marines attacked. Serana felt nothing but pity for the mad and twisted astartes they had encountered. During the initial fighting they had recognised the markings and heraldry of marines that had either been declared killed or missing in action from all twenty of the Imperium's legions. She was torn from her brooding from the new leader of the Dragonguard.

+"Serana, its Lydia here are you ready to launch?"+

"Ready." Few had objected Lydia's command who Hjati had obviously groomed for leadership since Delphine's death in the war against the Thalmor and Esbern's later on from old age. Aela had argued against Lydia but her opinion was short lived as she could not name another suitable candidate. Frea on the other hand rivalled Lydia in authority as she was High Dragon Priestess who fulfilled the dual role of both chaplain and librarian in the Dragonguard. Serana had remained silent on her opinion, all she cared about was avenging Hjalti.

The thrusters kicked in and the caestus assault ram began the journey towards the crippled enemy cruiser. Agmaer began to go through the plan. Serana would be second out of the craft following a dunmer marine with a flamer. They would breach a section of corridor near the prow of the enemy vessel, clear all hostiles in the vicinity and slowly make their way towards the bridge and the Slaaneshi whore, killing anything that got in their way. There were ten marines and Serana. The whore didn't stand a chance. All the Chaos marines were slain on Eternity's Gate and as the warp storm was abating fast, so too were the daemons losing their grip on reality. All that stood in their way were cultists, mutant and slaves. This was almost too easy.

* * *

"For the Dragonborn!" Ten voices cried in unison, one only loosed a wordless snarl from her lips.

The dunmer rushed forward bringing his flamer to bear. Serana was greeted by the howls of the burning and the stench of the burned. She raised her hellrifle and put a las bolt through a cultist who had managed to draw his shotgun. He collapsed, the intense heat of the shot causing the moisture of his flesh to evaporate instantly, blisters to form and the wound to cauterise. Contrary to common belief, las weapons left horrific wounds rivaling even bolt weapons.

She looked up and down the narrow corridor they had so dynamicly entered. They would have to move quickly if they wanted to avoid being surrounded. Agmaer began issuing orders, Serana did not listen as she sprinted headlong towards the bridge. She drew her hellpistols. Every inch of the corridor was plastered with obscene runes in Daemonicum Chaotica the foul language of chaos, not meant for mortal eyes but Serana was not mortal. The abhorrent symbols retreated as her baleful gaze went across them, they had every reason to fear her, the Slaaneshi whore had every reason to fear her.

She rounded a corner and straight into a group of six cultists carry an assortment of bladed weaponry designed to inflict both pleasure and pain, they were quick to react but Serana was quicker. She raised her pistols and unleashed a las storm into the first two cultists and gave them a more painless death than they deserved. In a effortless motion she holstered her pistols and drew her daedric daggers. The third cultist broke his blade as the vampire easily blocked strike and shortly found the wickedly curved blade of Serana's dagger in his throat. The fourth nearly dropped his weapon as he gasped at Serana's speed, his head was severed entirely as the vampire brought both her daggers across the cultists neck. At that, the fifth turned and ran followed closely by the sixth. Their speed was laughable as Serana covered the distance in a single leap and embedded her blades in the fifth's back. The sixth faced her with a visage of pure terror, which she promptly obliterated with an ice spike.

Serana unsheathed her blades from the cultists back and set off along the corridor. The Dawnguard would catch up later.

* * *

The journey that led to the bulkhead to the bridge had been uneventful other than the group of hapless cultists she had butchered earlier and now Serana knew why. A literal army had fortified the area at the end of the corridor, setting up heavy weapons and she even spotted a few cluster mines. Dangerous to use those on a ship with so many gas and power lines within the walls and floor. She looked down the sights of her hellrifle and sent a las bolt into the nearest cluster mine.

Someone may as well have set off a demolisher shell whilst Serana herself was quite safe being on the far end of the corridor. Even in her rather enraged mood the vampire had to admit the noise was incredible and the results even more so. Whilst the entrance to the bridge remained intact, the area surrounding it was a blackened and broken mess with flames clinging to almost every surface. Her foes little more than charred outlines and ashes along the walls and floor. _That ought make it easier for Agmaer_.

The door opened to allow a large group of cultists out before closing again. _Perfect! _The Slaaneshi whore had just divided her forces. More cultists came in through various side passages and began opening fire in her general direction with autoguns and shotguns, without realising she had just entered a ventilation shaft that would lead straight to the bridge. The shaft was too small for an astartes and was filled with some kind of hallucinogenic gas. The whore probably thought she was being clever in defending her inner sanctum but there very few indeed outside of Mundus that knew what pureblood vampires were capable of including, though most certainly not limited to, being immune to such poisons.

After a few minuets of crawling she found the Daughter of Colharbour found herself at a grate through which she had a bird's eye view over the bridge. She sighted her prey lounging on a a padded velvet command throne facing the doorway and adorned with the flayed skin of sacrifices, tools of the torture, implements of pleasure, vials of intoxicants. A monument to the depravity of Slaanesh. The whore was a physically striking figure who bore her flesh sensualy and unashamed of letting it show. A duo of grovelling plaesure slaves mewled at her feet, their eyes showing a barely controlled lust whilst a guard stood by her side with similar feeling for his mistress painfully obvious on his face.

Serana was not fooled. Her own powers of seduction far exceeded that of her prey, though Serana would _never_ lower herself to use her powers for such base purposes. She examined the whore more closely and smiled, despite the outward appearance of being smug in the illusion of an easy victory the whore's hands screamed otherwise. One hand gripped the hilt of an elegant power sword fiercely while the other cradled a rather garish looking bolt pistol close to a rather exposed chest. Unfortunately for the whore she had no armour only the obscene garb of devotee of Slaanesh, leaving little to the imagination and provided absolutely no protection. Serana felt her mouth water. Mother was not here to remind Serana not that she should not play with her food.

Serana removed the grate silently and took stock of her surroundings. The bridge was built almost like a temple, lots of colums and pillars to hide behind, plenty of cover and shadows to strike from. Some way across from the throne a communications officer stood at his post, no doubt to call the guards back inside should enemies infiltrate the bridge. Serana suppressed a giggle at the perfect angle as charged a chain lightning spell. The poor communication officer was sent flying as the bolt struck his cogitator and rebounded onto him, sending his smoking corpse directly into the whore's pleasure slaves.

The whore leaped from her throne with a startled shriek and unloaded her bolt pistol's magazine into the communications officer's remains leaving nothing but gory smear at the foot of her throne. A slave rushed to the door control panel. Serana destroyed the console with an icy spear, impaling the slave as he reached for the panel. There was no escape. Serana hopped down behind the nearest pillar, her cloak billowing out behind her and let loose her most blood-chilling laugh. The franticly tried to load another clip into her bolt pistol and in her panic she dropped her weapon. Her guard took note of his mistress' weakness and raised his laspistol and advanced upon the whore, intent on violating her then usurping her place. He gunned down the remaining slave as the wretch rushed to defend the whore. The whore backed fearfully to the throne, the traitor guard seemingly having forgotten about the intruder until the Volkihar Blade was protruding from his chest.

"Now, now that is no way to treat you better," Serana spoke in a sarcastically chastising tone, as if the guard was little more than a child, which compared with Serana he was, "though I suppose she deserves it."

The guard collapsed and Serana savoured the man's life energies being added to her own, she allowed her cloak to drop to the floor exposing her form. The ebony-ceramite plates of her power armour were nowhere near as bulky as the astartes grade equipment nor did they interface directly with her nervous system, nor did she have any of Hjalti's blood coursing through her veins, as much as part of her craved it. The armour plates covered only the most vital areas of her body, Serana did however tell Hjalti to have the armour leave part of her chest exposed in order to keep with the aesthetic of her kind. He never complained.

Serana felt a sudden sharp stinging sensation in her arm. She hadn't bothered to dodge the shot as the whore had used a needle pistol. She casually plucked the projectile from her arm and tossed it aside.

"You should have realised that I'm immune to such weapons when I got in through the vent!" The vampire snarled at her weak and pathetic prey. The Slaaneshi whore drew her power sword. Serana rapped her opponents knuckles with the flat of her own blade. The whore yelped like a wounded puppy and dropped her weapon. Serana thrust out her left arm held the whore in a vampiric grip suspending her in the air and draining her life force. She would suffer. She would die. She would...

Mercy.

Serana released her spell, feeling sick to the core at what she was about to do. _What would Hjati say?_ They had killed the followers of Chaos in the millions because they had to, never for sadistic pleasure. Her _victim _fell to her knees weeping in fear as her pale green eyes locked with Serana's amber glow. Serana decided what she would do with her.

"Stand," Serana sighed weakly. Her _thrall_ obeyed her command and stood. She would be given a chance of redemption, the taint would be purged from her body. Serana wrapped her arms around her in embrace and her fangs met their mark.

Serana removed her collar and placed it on her _fledgling's _neck. Hopefully that would help protect her from the Dragonguard's wrath.

The door disitegrated and Agmaer stepped through covered in blood and brandishing holding a meltagun. She was going to get such an earful.

Serana returned her gaze to the convulsing form at her feet. The woman gripped in the throes of Sanguinare Vampirius.

* * *

**I your wondering about Serana's hellrifle its basically a lasgun mixed with a DMR (like off Halo). Also would like to know about Serana's deciscion(Her plans for her new pet shall be revealed later on). Also would like some advice on DB's meeting with Citadel Council next chapter. **


	8. Moon-And-Star

**Well fuck me, the hammer of writers block has struck me hard.**

* * *

_**Aetherial Vengeance**_

_**Bridge**_

_**Eternity's Gate System.**_

"Just what in Oblivion do you think you're playing at Serana!" Serana ignored an apocalypticaly pissed off Lydia. In truth the housecarl was probably right but hey, Serana wasn't technically part of the Dragonguard, she had not been implanted with Hjalti's gene-seed like the rest, so the bitch had no authority over her.

Aela was equally furious at Serana's decision to make the cultist into a vampire and although Aela was a master infiltrator, she was far from subtle when it came to conversation. The huntress was quietly snarling at her from the other side of the holographic tactical display that currently showed the position of the Dragonguard fleet within the system.

Serana turned her gaze back to Lydia. It was clear that the housecarl practically idolized the Dragonborn and Hjalti had in many ways groomed Lydia to eventually assume command of the legion however the way she viewed the primarch was...unhealthy. Serana would not have been surprised if Lydia had been part of the Rogue Dragon-Cult. The original Dragon-Cult were the ancient nords who worshipped Alduin. The Rogue Dragon-Cult appeared shortly after the battle of Alinor during the Second Great War which was also the first time the people of Nirn had encountered the Ruinous Powers. Due to the miraculous events that saw victory for the empire and the Dragonborn's disappearance some began to worship him as a god, like Talos. Then there was Hjalti's Dragon-Cult.

A truly revolutionary form of religion that combined every pantheon from every culture on Nirn. From Divines to Daedra, Sithis to the All-Maker. It was the official faith of the Dragonguard and was established in order to unify the various peoples that became astartes. Not all deities were revered equaly and worship of individual gods was often down to each individual space marine. Serana knew that Hjalti tended to offer up his prayers to Akatosh, Azura and Talos but he also revered Nocturnal, Hircine, Kynareth, Sithis and, for reasons he had only hinted at, Sheogorath.

Serana herself was not one for religion, especially when she thought of her family's choice of deity. Not her family, her father's choice. Ever since subjugating herself she had promised to never pray to Molag Bal ever again, a promise she would have broken had she not spared the cultist. She always felt shivers run down her spine whenever she walked past His shrine in the great Saccellum of the Dragon Cult. A particular group of astartes were very fond of sacrificing the souls of Slaanesh's servants to the King of Rape, which could well be considered the ultimate torture for such things. Existing solely for the pleasure of the Lord of Domination and to be denied pleasure for the rest of eternity.

"Well?" She lazily turned her attention back to Lydia "Have you anything to say for yourself?"

Now it was Serana's turn to be pissed off. The nerve of her. "What I do with my prey is none of your business," through gritted teeth and barred fangs. "So what if I decided to be merciful".

"With a follower of Chaos?!" Aela deciding to join in. Astartes that were exceptionally honourable, fearless and skilled were given the title of Companion and were able to act with complete independence on the battlefield joining other units or in groups with other Companions. They had almost unlimited access to the armoury and new members returned to Mundus during the annual recruitment process to receive their Skyforged power weapon. Aela was still one of the most respected of their members. "You couldn't have just shot her?!"

"I turned her," Serana continued "I will ensure her obedience." In truth Aela had made a very good point. Anyone who fought the minions of the Dark Gods knew that leaving even one alive was extremely dangerous as the Warp sought to corrupt everything it touched and mercy was a luxury that cannot be afforded. Unless you were a vampire as powerful as Serana. Her blood had removed Hjalti's lycanthropy and she was hoping it would purge the taint on the cultist. Unfortunately the only other person that knew the full extent of her abilities was The Dragonborn.

Lydia was about to speak before a soft laugh interrupted her. It was a thick Nordic accent that was both soothing and fierce. High Dragon Priestess and former Skaal shaman Frea entered and stood just behind Serana followed by… another that she could not quite make out. The vampire quickly glanced at Lydia and Aela. Lydia seemed completely oblivious to the second figure while Aela was struggling to make him out. This worried her as very few could hide from her gaze.

"Serana's blood will have completely purged the taint from the cultist's veins and she can be brought back to Skyrim and become part of Clan Volkihar." Frea had initially refused to join the Dragonguard until she claimed to have received a vision from the All-Maker. Hjalti found her in the Imperial City on the eve of the newly founded legion's departure to join the Great Crusade after having a portal formed between Mundus and the Imperium.

Lydia was still unwilling to back down, seeing as her authority was being undermined. "I still want her off my ship."

Then Aela turned on Lydia "Your ship?!" The volume of her voice would have made Hjalti proud and for one horrific moment Serana truly believed Aela was going to assume her wolf form and tear Lydia to pieces.

"Our primarch isn't here anymore!"

They all went deathly silent as a harsh rasping laughter tore through the room and the shadowy figure revealed himself. A dunmer with bonemold plates bolted onto daedric forged power armour. His right dwemer forged gauntlet glowed with an unnatural light. A fearsome looking hammer was slung across his back and dagger with a blade of crystal was strapped to his chest. He carried no guns but at his hips were a pair of truly gorgeous scimitars that burned with magical flame. The ring on his finger bore the moon-and-star of Azura.

"Do you honestly think someone as powerful as The Last Dragonborn can be slain?" This man was a living legend rivalling Hjalti himself.

"He took an exterminatus!" retorted Lydia.

"The soul of a dragon is immortal and will endure even if the body is destroyed" He explained as a father would to a child. "A soul as strong as our _missing _primarch's will be able to reform its physical body along with all its earthly possessions".

"What are you saying?" Serana was beginning to understand what he was hinting at and she felt her undead heart clench in anticipation.

"It is simple," said the Nerevarine "we find The Dragonborn".


	9. Politics and schemes Dragons and Daedra

**Merry Christmass everbody!**

* * *

_**SSV Normandy SR2**_

_**En-route To The Serpent Nebula**_

The Dragonborn knelt across from Tela Vasir, facing the asari with the emotionless visage of Konahrik. It unnerved her as it did everyone else. It always unnerved everyone else. The cargo hold was much too cramped for his liking, whether it was due to his immense size or the fact that the _Normandy _was smaller than the main gun on the _Aetherial Vengeance _he was unsure.

The rogue spectre could not see his face thus she was ignorant that he was asleep rather than staring at her or, in his case, half sleep. True sleep was something he would sooner avoid nor did he need it as he was an astartes and could receive all the benefits of true sleep whilst his senses remained alert. The commander was busy speaking with Miranda though she had said she would come visit him with questions. He prayed that Akatosh would be merciful and Miranda would not be with Shepard.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the _Normandy _he was examining each and every one of their minds. The commander was an interesting woman. A skilled warrior with a soft heart and an effective leader. What really stood out about Shepard however, only became apparent when he skimmed through the minds of the other crew members. It was a deep rooted respect and admiration directed towards her. Like himself the commander was a hero of her people and could emphasise with her to a point. However, this galaxy did not know war as he did and she would need to prove herself if she was to earn his respect for the _dov _respected strength and wisdom alone.

He shifted his mental probe. The almost non-existant currents of the Warp making it easy to shift his witch-sight. It had been some time since he last practiced his psychic abilities to this extent not because he feared the Warp, something he would happily admit called his sanity into question, he despised it. When he first met with the fledgling Imperium during the Unification War of Terra he was quick to prove that not all magic came from that hellish place. Though he was open to the concept of psykers, he often enjoyed discussing his theories on the nature of magic with the primarch Magnus and was quite willing to use the Warp as a means of travel if only because he was better able to oppose the Forces of Chaos.

His mind settled its gaze upon Miranda. He felt a great deal of confusion as well as scepticism directed at him but there was a degree of disapproval directed towards Shepard, most likely for letting him aboard. She was also loyal to Cerberus and that worried him. No doubt the Illusive Man would want her to spy on him and likely to assess him as a threat and to send information on his technology and abilities. He delved deeper and looked for something he could use. He felt Miranda's discomfort as he rifled through her mind though she was unaware that he was the source. He smiled as he found an underlying sense of paranoia and concern for the wellbeing of her sister and fear of her father. Then he found that her faith in the Illusive Man had been shaken somewhat after seeing the consequences of Project Overlord. He would use that to his advantage when his inevitable conflict with Cerberus came.

The turian was at first difficult to decipher as Garrus thought in a different language but his scholars insight, courtesy of Hermaeus-Mora, allowed him to quickly learn the turian dialect. He was going to have a good laugh when they asked him why he didn't need a translator implant. The Dragonborn found it difficult to find purchase on his mind as it was focused exclusively on calibrating the _Normandy's _main gun.

"_You shouldn't be looking through other peoples thoughts Hunkeinthur."_

The Dragonborn leapt to his feet very nearly striking his head against the ceiling. He drew _Dovahstrum _and its enchantment caused arcs of lightning to course along the blade. He closed his mind as tightly as he could and raised his mental barriers. The four armsmen that guarded Tela Vasir raised their weapons at him and the asari herself was on edge. They were inconsequential, he could still feel the almighty presence as it brushed against his mind. It felt horribly familiar. It seemed amused.

"_I'm still here Hunkeinthur."_

"_The only other person that knew my Dovahzhul name is dead, I killed her."_

"_And it seems that she has returned to haunt you Rider." _The presence found The Dragonborn's predicament very amusing.

"_Is that really you or am I genuinely going mad?" _He was hoping to the gods that it was the latter but a part of him that he long thought dead longed for it to be her.

"_Your sanity has been in question since before you defeated Alduin."_

"_That was before you were even born, if it really is you and you're not just some daemon."_

"_It is me Hun Kein Thur, Hero War Tyrant," _she chuckled softly,_ "I am Vur Kaal Ah, Valour Champion Hunter."_

Tears began to well in The Dragonborn'seyesas his dragon brought forth the happiest memories of his life.

* * *

**South-East of Dras-Leona**

**Alagaesia**

**2048 years ago.**

Her obsidian scales glistened in the sunlight like black gemstones as she began a steep nose dive towards the surface of Leona Lake. He felt her joy over their bond as it poured into him further enhancing the sense of rapture. They were together. Rider and dragon. Their greatest strength was each other.

He laughed gleefully as the wind whipped through his hair before the two of them smashed into the waters of Leona Lake. Using her neck spikes as an underwater ladder he swam up to her head. He rested on her snout and tilted his head to gaze into one of the golden orbs that was her eye. He grinned at her and her eye narrowed in amusement. He slithered back to the base of her neck, holding onto the spike as he felt the water push past him as Vurkaalah used her immense wings and tail to push herself along like some great underwater predator.

Suddenly she turned upwards into the distorted sunlight. She smashed back into the sky and performed a mind boggling corkscrew triple backflip. He laughed at her impressive display of aerial prowess despite feeling more than a little dizzy. Water vapour filled the air in swirling patterns tracking their flight path. Her soft, melodic laughter joined his fierce mirth. The two sped off towards the city of Illyria.

The Dragonborn banished the memory to the very depths of his mind, the emotion of what he had lost threatening to overcome him. He strode out of the cargo hold up the stairs and into the corridor. He tore off his war helm as tears flowed freely down his face.

* * *

**SSV Normandy SR-2**

"_Why did you bring that up?"_

"_You would not have believed it was me otherwise." _She explained sympathetically.

"_But why now?" _he asked pleadingly _"Why have you only revealed to me now?"_

"_I have only just regained the ability to speak with you and only started to feel your soul once again during our brief imprisonment within the Warp when I lent you my strength to break out."_

"_Where are you?"_

"_Have you honestly forgotten one of your trademark abilities?" _She mocked_ "I'm a dragon, you killed me."_

"_I'm sorry." _That was the worst part. He had slain his own dragon. He justified every word the Riders had said. Abomination. Dragon Murderer. Fiend. Then began his own little crusade against those that were responsible for his fall. The Riders that led him and Vurkaalah into the daemon's clutches. They lay dead, their dragons devoured. The daemon had been banished at Eternity's Gate during the exterminatus he had ordered but was still out there.

"_I forgive you." _Confused, Vurkaalah clarified. _"The daemon had my eldunari, had you not killed me the daemon would have taken my soul and we would both be suffering."_

"_I'm suffering."_

"_And now I'm here for you"_ He had to admit that, even though she had no body and was just a voice in his head, her presence comforted him _"besides, I know my remains are on the _Aetherial Vengeance, _all we need to do is get my eldunari back and then you can resurrect me as Alduin did the rest of dragonkind, you know the words."_

Before he could reply the doors of the elevator opened and out came Shepard and Miranda. They looked at him odd. Then he realised that he wasn't wearing his war helm revealing his bizarre mutations mainly the scales that had formed from his emotional state, turning his face and likely the rest of his body obsidian. He felt Vurkaalah's laughter resonate within his mind. Thank Azura that the tears were gone.

* * *

Shepard recalled what Mordin had said about the way Hjalti's scales behaved due to his emotional state like the way humans blushed. So when she and Miranda came before his eight foot armoured form with his black ice and fire sword drawn, replete with honest to god lightning she had to ask the most stupid question. The most foolish, god-awful question that had drawn the ire of thousands throughout history and sent men into early graves.

"Are you okay?" _No, he only looks as if he is preparing to reap our souls. _Her inner chastisement left her very much unprepared for what came next.

"_Don't worry commander he'll be fine."_

_Did I just hear a voice in my head?_

"_Indeed you did," _This time she heard the calm-before-the-storm voice of Hjalti, "Shepard, Miranda I would like you to meet my dragon who resides in my conscience and the better half of my soul, Vurkaalah."

"_A pleasure." _God that voice was lovely. Both mischievous and caring at the same time. She looked over to Miranda and by the way her jaw was down to her breasts she was hearing the same thing.

"I am the _Normandy's _enhanced defenceintelligence or EDI" the AI chimed in "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Vurkaalah."

"Wait, it can talk to EDI?" Miranda was astonished while Hjalti was clearly unhappy with what she had just said.

"An AI is capable of independent thought and emotion thus is a living being who possesses a soul meaning that someone with telepathic abilities can communicate with them" he clarified through gritted blade-like teeth "call my dragon an it again and I will cast your soul screaming into the deepest pits of Oblivion you _wiizaan._"

"_He will, it's not a fate you want, I've seen him do worse to people who anger him."_

"The council is going to love this." Shepard sighed dejectedly. "Hjalti what was that extra file you sent me?"

"I didn't" His brow furrowing.

"Serana Volkihar…?"

"_Actually that was me," _She briefly saw Hjalti's eyes flash in surprise but he quickly hid it _"I prompted the armour's machine-spirit to send the file on her, it's a lot smarter than most give it credit for."_

"What exactly is a machine-spirit?" asked Miranda, her sceptic nature at odds with her curiosity.

"That is very much open to interpretation" replied Hjalti "but it is essentially a conscience that nurtures and protects the machine it inhabits as an animal would its habitat, the difference between a machine-spirit and an AI is that it is unable to make independent decisions and is requires someone to look after them whereas an AI is able to maintain and improve itself."

"_Hjalti may have broken a few regulations on how intelligent a machine-spirit ought to be when he forged his armour and weapons."_

"You forged your own gear?" Shepard gazed in amazement. Only now did she properly examine his gear, which was a masterpiece in its own right. The armour was a deep black like a midnight sky and had a golden trim. Golden dragon designs stood at various points the armour in different positions of what Shepard assumed was combat, Such as the ones rearing up on his pauldrons and the ones poised to strike on his gauntlets. At the centre of the chest plate was the biggest ruby Shepard had ever seen and it glowed. It seemed to be mounted on a distinctly regal black dragon with its wings bent to form a diamond shape and the light from the ruby seemed to eclipse the dragon. She did not doubt that this was the symbol of Mundusian Empire.

"I would like to interrogate the asari," The Dragonborn spoke bringing Shepard out of her reverie, "my ability to look into the minds of others should prove useful in convicting her."

"The Illusive man would want a report on this," said Miranda "I'm coming too."

"_Why? Does the Illusive Man honestly think he can stop my Rider if he decides to oppose Cerberus?"_

* * *

The Dragonborn looked down upon the fallen spectre, having donned his fearsome war-helm once more. Tela Vasir was shivering all over and her breaths left puffs of cold vapour, it seemed he hadn't thawed her out completely. Despite that, the asari had defiance burning in her eyes and he had to respect her for that.

"You have to choices before xeno," he said, the inbuilt vox speaker making his like distant thunder, especially with his Thu'um, "tell me what I want to know or I will tear it from your mind, painfully. Your choice." He used the Imperium's favoured word for a non-human in order to emphasise a sense of distaste and that he was more than willing to hurt her. He was not however a racist, unlike the Imperium, partly due to being adopted by a nord as a babe and later being fostered by, of all things, an altmer couple who were ex-Thalmor, fought in the First Great war and took back to the Summerset Isles to West Guard, north of Skywatch thus making him one of the very few humans, possibly the only nord, in the Summerset Isles. Then there was the fact that Tamriel alone was home to no less than nine intelligent species, something that baffled the Cult Machanicum's Magos Biologis to no end and The Dragonborn was not about to let the tech-priests dissect his own subjects.

"What does it matter?" said Vasir "Once the Shadow Broker discovers I've failed he'll spill all my secrets and it will ruin me!"

"_It seems this Shadow Broker kept the asari's loyalty through blackmail," _Vurkaalah spoke to The Dragonborn privately, _"I'm assuming you have a plan Hunkeinthur?"_

"If you don't co-operate," Miranda spoke up "my associate here will hurt you."

"Foolish _wizaan,_" The Dragonborn turned to Miranda, "you are stupider than I thought."

"Care to explain" she demanded.

"We now know the Shadow Broker kept her loyalty through blackmail," he removed his helm and gave his best lupine grin that was all the more menacing due to his fangs, leftovers of lycanthropy and vampirism, "this opens up new opportunities and ways to move against the Shadow Broker."

"How so?"

"If the Broker is smart, he'll realise that blackmail works both ways," he explained "the asari will have information we can use against the Broker, thus he will be moving to silence her." He looked at Vasir's omni-tool on a nearby desk. He raised his hand and, casting a telekinesis spell, it rushed into his open palm. "the data on this device will give the means to locate the Broker, though his own transmissions will undoubtedly be heavily encrypted my armour's machine-spirit will have little trouble cracking it. In the mean time we need only turn the asari over to the Council. At this point, interrogation may not even be necessary."

"_I don't regret hatching for you one bit." _The Dragonborn grinned at Vurkaalah's remark. His mind was abuzz with plots and schemes that would make Mephala proud. The Council, Cerberus, The Shadow Broker and the Reapers. They were not ready for him. This galaxy was not ready for him. And now there were two of them.

* * *

**Unknown Location**

**Oblivion**

A smile broke her normally serene appearance. The moment The Dragonborn re-manifested himself she was watching. The re-appearance of his dragon was an interesting development also. Even she could not have foreseen that. No doubt the Great Enemy will be moving against him as well. He will need help. She will send her own chosen champion and a certain Daughter of Coldharbour. Perhaps the Dawnguard as well, maybe even the Knights of the Nine.

For now she would wait, though not for long. She would show this galaxy the kind of forces they were dealing with and in turn help smooth The Dragonborn' s current affairs,

**SSV Normandy SR-2**

**The Serpent Nebula.**

The Dragonborn stood behind Joker who was a little uncomfortable with his presence. The journey through the mass relay had been interesting to say the least. The concept behind it was so simple he almost laughed. Little more than a gigantic, eezo powered slingshot. Though arriving at their destination instantly was rather impressive. The device was clearly more advanced than what this galaxy was capable of which begged a question. Exactly how old were the mass relays?

The same question presented itself when he looked out of the window at the massive space station resting in void of space. Gods, that thing is almost as big as The Phalanx. It was then he saw the defence fleet and his face broke into a sneer. Once again the limitations of eezo were staring him right in the face.

"Joker," he said, startling the brittle-boned pilot, "what kind of vessel is the _Normandy _classified as by this galaxy's standards?"

"This baby is a super frigate" he said proudly. At that, The Dragonborn could not contain himself any longer. He burst out laughing. "What?" demanded Joker "What's wrong with my baby."

"By Imperium classification and, by extension Mundusian classification as our technology is based off theirs, this vessel barely classes as a light corvette." The pilots jaw dropped and The Dragonborn laughed again.

"H-How big are you're dreadnaughts?"

"The largest vessel in the Mundusian fleet is a Gloriannis-class battle barge the _Aetherial Vengeance, _my flagship." His machine-spirit sent the specs on the _Aetherial Vengeance _to Joker's omni-tool as well as a brief history on the Gloriannis-class vessels. "Here you are."

"Hjalti, the Council is ready to meet with Shepard and the trial will begin shortly." EDI chimed in. "They have also requested your presence."

"Of course they have." The Dragonborn strode out of the cockpit and began to make his way to the airlock. Meanwhile Joker stared in awe and muttering something about compensating for something.

* * *

**Council Chambers**

**The Ivory Tower**

**The Citadel**

**Serpent Nebula**

If there was one thing The Dragonborn despised it was the quagmire of politics. It was the reason he reformed the Elder Council to reflect the High Lords of Terra, so he could remain detached from that most cut-throat of all ventures. His own prowess was nothing to scoff at. He had run bureaucratic rings around many of his opponents within the Imperium including the great Rouboutte Guilliman himself. The Dragonborn found something distinctly amusing about ticking off that particular primarch. His main issue with politics were those who practiced it. There were some he liked such as Flavia Mede, Regent of Nirn, who had the very best interests of the empire at heart and possessed the skill to keep the rest of the Elder Council in line. But there those like Maven Black-Briar, Lady of Trade and Finance who acted for personal interest alone. He kept due to her intellect and was quick to point out that he would destroy her if she stepped out of line. Unlike the time when he was but a strapping young adventurer wondering Skyrim, he now had more than enough power to remove her.

Unfortunately it seemed he would have to go through the whole process of proving he was not one to be trifled with.

"So, this is humanity's secret super-soldier project." Sparatus the turian councillor and so far one of the biggest arseholes he had the privilege of meeting. He considered it a privilege as he got to teach them humility. "Weather Alliance or Cerberus I demand answers."

"I am affiliated with neither," The Dragonborn spoke coldly, doing nothing to hide his contempt, "I answer to no one and am law unto myself."

"Yet you are clearly genetically altered," Valern the Salarian councillor, a schemer through and through, however acted neutrally and preferred to observe from a distance, "which violates numerous Council laws."

"A galactic community where it is possible for one's very existence to be crime, truly this galaxy is in capable hands." He laughed mirthlessly, putting the four councillors on edge. "I assure that I was _far _out of council jurisdiction when I underwent the process _willingly _to become an astartes."

"Perhaps if you were to remove your headgear," Tevos the asari councillor, the mediator, the one who made the first grave mistake "you could explain yourself face to face."

"Do not patronise me _joorre_!" He snapped. How dare she? How dare any of them? "The one who sired me has stood against the darkness since before your ancestors crawled on their bellies from the seas of Thessia! Do not dare to presume! You wonder why I wear the mask despite the fact that I hate what it represents?! It is a judgement, a judgement upon those who would have the audacity to call my features a disfigurement! To unworthy self-concerned imbeciles! To people like you!" The very air shattered at the sheer force of his voice. The council were quite possibly fearing for their lives.

At that moment dozens of c-sec guards rushed in and surrounded them. All trained their weapons on him. He began laughing. It was a cruel laugh. Not unlike Molag Bal when he had The Dragonborn beat that priest of Boethia into submission. Even without his voice they would die. He drew his sword and triggered its enchantment. Flames spiralled around the Skyforged ebony-stalrhim-heartstone blade as he drew his plasma pistol.

"Stand down!" yelled Sparatus. "You are surrounded and out-gunned!"

"Fools!" He cackled "I have ended more lives than you can imagine! Continue with this farce and I will cut a bloody swath through your ranks! I shall drink your blood and feast on your hearts! _**FAS RU MAAR!**_"

* * *

The whole room was bathed in a bloody red light and then… _Oh my God! What's happening?!_ Shepard felt her mind assailed by horrifying images. Her squad being torn to pieces on Akuze. Kaidan's broken remains staring at her with accusation. _Sovereign _descending upon her childhood home in New York and…_Enough! _Shepard blinked away the illusion and gazed about herself. Tevos was struggling to maintain her composure. Anderson seemed to have realised it was an illusion an gave her a concerned glance. Valern was glancing around wildly while Sparatus was hugging himself and muttering something unintelligible. Tela Vasir was thrashing against her restraints and majority of the c-sec guards had fled save a few who were on floor, crying to themselves.

Then there was Hjalti. He had removed his mask and smiling wickedly. It was often said that the eyes were windows to the soul and when she looked into Hjalti's eyes she saw something so powerful so terrifying, her mind screamed at her to submit, to let him torment them as he was doing despite the mortal horror she was feeling.

Hjalti continued to laugh his cruel laughter. Then something else caught Shepard's eye. Hjalti gasped and he glanced almost worriedly about himself. Rose petals seemed to be coalescing in the centre of the chamber. Shepard gazed in wonder as they suddenly dissipated and in their place stood the most beautiful woman Shepard had ever laid her eyes on. She wore a crown of roses and a thin white dress. Her arms were outstretched and a crescent moon hovered above one of her hands, the other a star. Her eyes bore visions of vast constellations, the births and deaths of stars and the implacable tide of fate. Shepard suddenly realised she recognised this divinely beautiful figure on one of Hjalti's tattoos.

Hjalti replaced his pistol and knelt down low on his sword, its flames gone. He smiled as one would had they been reunited with a loved one. He then spoke in loving reverence and awe.

"My Lady Azura."


End file.
